Writer Speculates Bernie Sanders is Democratic Frontrunner For 2020

Sen. Bernie Sander, I-Va, is the Democratic Party’s frontrunner for the 2020 presidential election, according to Vox’s Matthew Yglesias.

“Amid a swirl of speculation about Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, and practically everyone else under the sun as potential Democratic presidential contenders, most of the political class is ignoring the elephant in the room,” Yglesias wrote.

“Bernie Sanders is, by some measures the most popular politician in America, by far Democrats’ most in-demand public speaker, and the most prolific grassroots fundraiser in American history,” he added.

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Steven Shepard of Politico, noted in June that, “Dozens of Democrats are reportedly considering challenging him (Trump) in 2020. But voters haven’t heard of the vast majority of them.”

Citing a Politico/Morning Consult poll. Shepard wrote: “A handful of heavyweight party elders, however, would enter a campaign as known quantities: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). At least three-quarters of voters surveyed said they had an opinion on Biden and Warren.”

Yglesias says that since coming in second to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries, Sanders has maintained his national political organization, improved his relationships with colleagues in Congress, grabbed national media attention and traveled around the country to discuss issues with voters.

On June 13, Sanders penned an editorial in The New York Times titled “How Democrats Can Stop Losing Elections,” where the self-described democratic socialist discussed what Democrats must do to regain power in the House, Senate and White House.

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Sanders wrote that Democrats must guarantee a single-payer health care system, raise taxes on the wealthy and create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

According to Yglesias, Democrats did not give Sanders a chance in 2016 despite the movement he created, partly because they were afraid of Hillary Clinton’s “wrath.”

“The Democratic Party establishment is, in many respects, in worse shape than it realizes,” Yglesias said.

However, he thinks that Sanders’ chances would be better next time around.

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“Sanders’s insurgent campaign revealed a Democratic Party electorate that is fairly eager to embrace an ideological champion as a progressive counterpoint to the decidedly conservative GOP,” he wrote.